After years dividing his attention between his own label and his work for other brands, Christophe Lemaire is set to give the freshly rebranded ‘Lemaire’ his full attention, with co-designer Sarah-Linh Tran and managing director Bastien Daguzan at his side — and a collaboration with Uniqlo to boot.

BoF sits down with Charlotte Dellal and Bonnie Takhar to discuss the rise of seven-year-old footwear brand Charlotte Olympia, which blends British wit with Hollywood glamour and, last year, generated over $40 million in revenue.

BoF speaks to Karen Walker and Mikhail Gherman, the duo at the helm of New Zealand-based brand Karen Walker, to find out how they built a global business from the edge of the world through a series of licensing deals.

BoF speaks to Woo Youngmi, one of South Korea’s most respected exports, who started her menswear business, which now generates $29.4 million per year, during a period of dramatic upheaval in her native country.

With Stuart Weitzman on the auction block, the designer reveals how he built a footwear brand that generates $300 million in annual revenue with a blend of refined aesthetics, wearability, affordable pricing and vertically integrated manufacturing.

A decade ago, Kris Van Assche wanted nothing more than to have his own fax number. Today, the Belgian-born designer is a fixture of the Paris menswear establishment at the creative helm of both Dior Homme and his own brand, which, this season, celebrates 10 years in business.

BoF sits down with Margaret Howell at her seaside house in Suffolk, England, to discuss how the British designer built a brand known for its simple, practical pieces, evocative of the natural landscape, into a business, now majority-owned by Japanese company Anglobal, that generates £100 million per year.

As John Varvatos launches a new flagship on New York’s Madison Avenue, part of an ambitious global retail rollout, BoF sits down with the designer to learn how he built his business at the intersection of fashion and rock n’ roll.

L: Paul Smith at ‘Hello, my name is Paul Smith’ at London's Design Museum; R: A detail from the exhibition | Photo: Michael Hemy for BoF

Rebecca May Johnson spends an afternoon in conversation with Paul Smith, tracing his path from a small time retailer to Britain’s most successful fashion designer, who pioneered the concept of classic menswear with a twist.